AppleInsider Staff
Hoping to strike a chord with old school BlackBerry users, the not quite dead company on Wednesday teased a new device called BlackBerry Classic, which appears to be a modern take on the seminal BlackBerry Bold.
Unveiled in an open letter from BlackBerry CEO John Chen, the upcoming BlackBerry Classic looks to be a throwback to RIM devices from the company's glory days, complete with trackpad, top-row navigation buttons and the familiar physical keyboard.
Aside from the traditional BlackBerry trappings, the Classic brings modern day technology like a larger high-resolution screen, buffed internals and the new BlackBerry 10 operating system. Chen touted the growing BlackBerry app library, as well as first-party software BlackBerry Hub and BlackBerry Blend, the latter of which acts very much like iOS 8's Continuity features.
Sure, we've got new BlackBerry devices that break the mold, including the BlackBerry Passport. But we also recognize that a lot of you continue to hang on to your Bold devices because they get the job done, day in and day out - just like you.We get it, and we've got you covered.
The company has yet to reveal a full list of specifications and features, but put up a teaser webpage with a picture of the device's keyboard and lower screen area.
Andrew O'Hara
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78 Comments
market share drops = keep going back further into the products that allowed them to fall out of the market, inverse correlation anyone? They have a death grip on the past and it has one on them.
I really didn't expect to see another phone from Blackberry, let alone a Bold replacement. They must expect this to keep the faithful in the ecosystem while they try and figure out something to actually make them grow. It was probably worth the effort to churn Bold owners off of their old devices alone. We will see if this gives them something to grow from.
With damn Square Phone? LOL. Last thing people want on their smartphone is physical keyboard. DOA, BB.
Maybe Blackberry should work with MCX and become the exclusive mobile platform for CurrentC.
Can't blame them for it. Kinda like those violists who kept playing as the Titanic sunk.